Fishing bait sinker

ABSTRACT

A sinker which is to be attached to a fishing line ahead of the bait and for causing the bait to sink in the water. The sinker has a tapered and pointed nose and is suspended from the line at a point forward of its midpoint length. That portion of the sinker located behind the attaching point is formed of a lighter weight, less dense material than the main body of the sinker, and the rear portion acts to maintain the sinker in a position with its pointed nose up-stream.

white States Patent 1191 Seitz Jan. 15, 1974 [54] FISHING BAIT SINKER2,727,332 l2/l955 Benson 43/4497 7 l9 9 [76] Inventor: Carl R. Seitz,2806 E. Allerton, s1. 3456379 6 43/43 Francis, Wis. Przmary ExammerLou1sG. Mancene Filed? y 1971 Assistant Examiner-James H. CzerwonkyAtt0rney-James Nllles 52 us. c1. 43/4314, 43/4497 ABSTRACT [51] Int. ClA0lk 95/00 A Sinker which i to be attached to a fishing line ahead [58]Fleld of Search 43/43.l4, 43.1, 44.97, of the bait and for causing the bto i i the 43/4113 ter. The sinker has a tapered and pointed nose and issuspended from the line at a point forward of its mid- [56] ReferencesC'ted point length. That portion of the sinker located behind UNITE STATS P T the attaching point is formed of a lighter weight, less 2,74L8634/1956 Magill 43 4313 dense material than h main y of the sinker, n2,228,513 l/194l Frisbie 43/4114 the rear portion acts to maintain thesinker in a posi- 2,863,253 12/1958 Hettinger 43/43.l4 tion with itspointed nose up-stream. 2,934,850 5/1960 Moe 43/43.l3 3,084,471 4 1963Alspaugh 43 4314 x 6 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures YIIII IIIIII FISHING BAITSINKER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The invention pertains to fishingequipment and more particularly to a sinker for a bait and which is tobe attached to the line for the purpose of guiding the bait to theproper depth.

An example of a prior art type of trolling sinker is shown in US. Pat.2,577,965, which issued Dec. 11, 1951 to Hinkson and is entitledTrolling Sinker. In that apparatus, a considerable portion of the metalis so shaped so as to form an inclined surface in the direction of thewater flowing over the sinker. Prior art devices of this type havenumerous surfaces and parts which are expensive to manufacture,cumbersome to use, inconvenient to carry, and subject to being entangledin weeds or the like. Furthermore, the metal material used in such asinker is not used to its greatest efficiency so as to use it for thefunction for which the sinker was intended and consequently thesecomplicated sinkers were not economical to manufacture.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a sinker for abait and which is adapted to be suspended from the fishing line, thesinker having a pointed nose and being generally of a small diameter andelongated shape. The point of suspension of the sinker from the line islocated at a point forward of the midpoint of the sinkers length. A rearpart of the sinker is made of less dense material than the major portionof the sinker body, which construction acts to help maintain the sinkerpointed in an up stream direction. The sinker provided by the presentinvention finds particular utility for use in casting, trolling, or infast water where the nose of the sinker should preferably be pointedupstream at all times, to thereby provide the proper action for the baitand minimize the entanglement of the sinker and bait in weeds or thelike. The sinker provided by the present invention makes maximumefficient use of the metal used to make the sinker. The sinker of thepresent invention is so shaped that it performs its sinking functionbetter than other sinkers which have relatively large surfaces fordeflecting the sinker in one direction or another.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention willappear hereinafter as this disclosure progresses, reference being had tothe accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an elevational view of asinker made in accordance with the present invention as employed in atrolling operation;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal, cross sectional view, on an enlarged scale, ofthe sinker made in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a transverse, cross sectional view through the sinker shown inFIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 4 shows several of the sinkers shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, as usedtogether;

FIG. 5 is an elevational view of another form of sinker;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view along line 6-6 in FIG. 5; and

FIG. 7 is an elevational view of another modified form of sinker.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The present invention findsparticular utility for use with a sinker for a bait when trolling,casting, or for use in fast moving streams. Under these circumstances,it is desirable to have the sinker maintained at a proper predetermineddepth in the water and at the same time, pass through the water with aminimum of turbulence and also act to guide the line and bait in aproper direction through the water. All this must be done while at thesame time, minimizing entanglement of the line, sinker, and bait withweeds or other obstructions.

It is desirable that economical use of the metal or other material ofwhich the sinker is made is insured. That is to say, it is desirablethat the sinker will seek the maximum depth for the amount of materialused, and also considering the force of the water moving relatively overthe sinker.

The sinker provided by the present invention is preferably fabricatedfrom a metal such as lead, and is formed with its leading edge as apoint an symmetrical along its longitudinal axis. Generally, the sinkerS is cylindrical in shape and has an attaching eye 4 locatedintermediate its length. It will be noted that the point of attachmentof the eye is generally forward of the midpoint 5 of the entire lengthofthe sinker. The sinker is thus suspended from the main line 6 and aheadof the bait B.

The pointed nose 7 of the sinker insures that it will pass through thewater with a minimum of turbulence and because of the symmetrical shapeof the nose about the longitudinal center-line of the sinker, the sinkerwill not rise or fall due to the shape of the sinker, but instead theweight of the sinker determines its depth in the water.

The rear portion of the sinker is fabricated from a material of lessdensity than the major portion of the sinker. For example, a tubularpiece 8 is attached to the rear end of the main portion of the sinkerand is shown as being fabricated from plastic. An air escape hole 9extends through the tubular portion so as to relieve any vacuum formedin the tube and thereby allow any air to escape that otherwise may betrapped therein. Thus, the sinker has a longer length from its point ofattachment to the rear end of the sinker than from the point ofattachment to the nose of the sinker. This distribution of lengthrelative to the point of attachment also helps insure that the sinkerwill always point upstream, that is in the direction from which thewater flows over the sinker. In other words, an additional surfacelength is provided from the eye to the rear of the sinker and on whichthe flowing water can act.

As shown in FIG. 5, the rear portion of the sinker is fabricated from arelatively flat and narrow plastic piece 10 attached to the main body ofthe sinker. This piece 10 also acts to provide additional surface areaagainst which the water can act, thereby maintaining the properdirection of the sinker relative to the water flowing thereover.

The modification shown in FIG. 5 can also use a flat and narrow piece 10which is fabricated from other materials such as for example, aluminumor wood.

FIG. 7 is still another modified form of the invention and shows aflexible member such as a piece of cord 12 attached to the rear portionof the main body. This cord also has the effect of tending to cause thesinker to orientate itself properly in the water, that is with its nosepointing upstream.

The string or other flexible member which is attached to the main bodyas shown in FIG. 6 creates sufficient drag to keep the sinker facing ina forward position that is to say with the pointed nose in the upstreamdirection.

As shown in FIG. 4, several of the above described sinkers can beattached to one another to provide the additional weight desired for thedepth in the water. All of the sinkers properly orientate themselves inthe water as above described.

With the sinkers provided by the present invention, an efficient use ofmaterial for the sinker is utilized and in which the maximum amount ofdepth is possible for a given weight of material. The pointed,symmetrical nose maintains the sinker orientated in the upstreamdirection while the additional length of the sinker behind its attachingpoint also assures that the sinker is orientated properly in the movingwater. The various modifications made in accordance with the presentinvention are all balanced so that they hang from a line in a horizontalposition.

The sinker provided by the present invention is extremely simple indesign, economical to manufacture, easy to carry and tends to minimizeentanglement of the line, sinker and bait with weeds or the like.

The sinking devices as provided by the present invention are highly snagresistance because if the sinker tip happens to get hooked on someunderwater object, the front will tip itself forward and pull itselffree. If an underwater object is struck, the hydro-dynamic qualities ofthe sinker are temporarily destroyed and a greater surface istemporarily presented to the flow of water causing the sinker to planemomentarily to thereby move to a higher level and avoid other underwaterobjects.

I claim:

l. A sinker for a fishing line having a bait at the end thereof andcomprising, an elongated cylindrical shaped body fabricated from ametal, said body having a one piece tapered and pointed nose portionwhich is symmetrical about the longitudinal axis of said body, anelongated portion attached to the rear of said metal body, said portionhaving a width substantially equal to that of said metal body and beingof less density than the metal body, said shaped body having a lengthgreater than that of said elongated portion, attaching means mounted onsaid shaped body for hanging attachment from said fishing line andintermediate the ends of said line, said attaching means positionedalong the length of said shaped body at a location forward the midpointof said sinker and at a location which will maintain said sinker in ahorizontal position and the nose portion pointed in the direction ofsinker movement.

2. The sinker set forth in claim 1 wherein the rear portion is comprisedof a tubular material attached to the rear end of said main portion andextending rearwardly therefrom.

3. A sinker as set forth in claim 2 including an aperture through saidrear portion and at the upper side thereof to permit the escape of airtherefrom when said sinker is immersed.

4. The sinker as described in claim 1 including second attaching meansdirectly beneath said attaching means for hanging another similar sinkerthereto.

5. The sinker as described in claim 2 including second attaching meansdirectly beneath said attaching means for hanging another similar sinkerthereto.

6. The sinker as described in claim 3 including second attaching meansdirectly beneath said attaching means for hanging another similar sinkerthereto.

1. A sinker for a fishing line having a bait at the end thereof andcomprising, an elongated cylindrical shaped body fabricated from ametal, said body having a one piece tapered and pointed nose portionwhich is symmetrical about the longitudinal axis of said body, anelongated portion attached to the rear of said metal body, said portionhaving a width substantially equal to that of said metal body and beingof less density than the metal body, said shaped body having a lengthgreater than that of said elongated portion, attaching means mounted onsaid shaped body for hanging attachment from said fishing line andintermediate the ends of said line, said attaching means positionedalong the length of said shaped body at a location forward the midpointof said sinker and at a location which will maintain said sinker in ahorizontal position and the nose portion pointed in the direction ofsinker movement.
 2. The sinker set forth in claim 1 wherein the rearportion is comprised of a tubular material attached to the rear end ofsaid main portion and extending rearwardly therefrom.
 3. A sinker as setforth in claim 2 including an aperture through said rear portion and atthe upper side thereof to permit the escape of air therefrom when saidsinker is immersed.
 4. The sinker as described in claim 1 includingsecond attaching means directly beneath said attaching means for hanginganother similar sinker thereto.
 5. The sinker as described in claim 2including second attaching means directly beneath said attaching meansfor hanging another similar sinker thereto.
 6. The sinker as describedin claim 3 including second attaching means directly beneath saidattaching means for hanging another similar sinker thereto.